Autism is not a superpower - ...and I'm tired of people pretending that it is. (aka Vyse bitches and moans for a little bit)

[Vyse Inglebard]

Now, I know a lot of people have made this observation before. Hell, quite a few people have most likely done it on the Farms, including myself. However, I don't think a lot of people truly realize just how much it fucks you over if you're unfortunate enough to have it (and I mean actually diagnosed by a medical professional, not self-diagnosis Tumblr/Twitter bullshit). And I myself never realized the true extent of such....until today. My team at work is doing a little meet-up at the local office this week as a sort of team-building exercise. Today was the first day everyone was there. Just....the way everyone threw jokey little barbs at each other, the genuine laughs they had, the ease with which they simply talked to each other. It hit me like a ton of bricks: no matter how hard I try, no matter how perfectly I "mask" my behavior, no matter the accomplishments I achieve down the road, I will never have that. I will never be able to form a palpable connection with another human being (aside from close family, that is). I will never have real "friends", the closest they'll be are acquaintances. I will never know the feeling of being in love. The simple act of socializing is physically draining and as a result, I will never "enjoy" events/trips the way normal people do.

The ennui has hit me several times before, but never has it been brought into sharper focus. It's....disquieting, to say the least. I don't know, maybe I'm being a bit of a whiny faggot about it, but I'm so goddamn tired of seeing people wear their "neurodivergence" () like a badge of pride, and that's how I instantly know that they either aren't actually autistic, or they don't actually try to assimilate into society. Then again, it's better that I realize this now, when I'm relatively young, rather than later, so I don't end up even more disappointed. I am extremely fortunate in some ways, I will recognize that. But if I could take a magic pill to make the spergers go away, you bet your ass I'd take it in a heartbeat.

TL;DR: Kick the Autistic isn't just America's favorite game, it's nature's.

 

[Schwarzwald]

Hey, buddy. How about we go get you a Happy Meal -I think they've got Sonic the Hedgehog toys right now!- then on the way home we stop at the train station and watch some of those neat locomotives go by. Don't forget your earmuffs, though- we both know how loud sounds upset you, and those choo-choos get pretty loud! When we get back, we'll put you down in your sensory deprivation chamber for your nap.

Sound good, champ? Would that make you feel better?

 

[Aero the Alcoholic Bat]

We can talk about the strengths that come with autism until the cows (haha) come home. In reality, those "strengths" are just the result of heightening one's other mental faculties in order to compensate for what they lack.

Like a blind person heightening their sense of hearing or smell to compensate for their lack of eyesight.

Imagine if you could "cure" autism. Those people being "cured" aren't destroying an intrinsic part of themselves. Those life lessons from those hard knocks that came with being autistic? Still remain, even after the "cure" happens.

If you wanna bring religion into this, well, just read 2 Corinthians 12:7–10.

 

[Shig O'nella]

It hit me like a ton of bricks: no matter how hard I try, no matter how perfectly I "mask" my behavior, no matter the accomplishments I achieve down the road, I will never have that.

Other people won't know that. You know the weird thing about us non-autists? In the main, we don't notice shit. In the rare cases we do, we mostly don't care, cause "Hey, not my problem, not making it my problem."
Not saying you don't have a problem, because of course you do. Just suggesting it might not be as big a problem to other people as you fear.
As far as it being a problem to you, all I can do is wish you well.

 

[Mr.Miyagi]

I will never be able to form a palpable connection with another human being (aside from close family, that is). I will never have real "friends", the closest they'll be are acquaintances. I will never know the feeling of being in love. The simple act of socializing is physically draining and as a result, I will never "enjoy" events/trips the way normal people do.

I think it's perfectly possible for you to find love, even if it might not be in the same form or expressions that you might see displayed by others. Don't let a sense of social alienation or some awkwardness at a workplace groupmeet prevent you from pursuing those meaningful connections with other people, in whatever pace or distance they might be for you.

 

[Shadfan666xxx000]

I think youre letting things get to you too much. Its ok to not be terribly charismatic or to be the odd one out. Ive felt that my entire life. You wont get anywhere beating yourself up over it and it sure wont make you happy. Just relax and let that feeling pass by if you cant do anything with it.

 

[Vyse Inglebard]

How about we go get you a Happy Meal

REEEEEEEEEE I WANTED CHICK-FIL-A YOU FUCKING NIGGER

2 Corinthians 12:7–10

or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

As far as it being a problem to you, all I can do is wish you well.

Really, that's all anyone can do.

Don't let a sense of social alienation or some awkwardness at a workplace groupmeet prevent you from pursuing those meaningful connections with other people, in whatever pace or distance they might be for you.

If I came of age 10-20 years ago, yeah, maybe. Clown World has made that impossible. "The only winning move is not to play."

You wont get anywhere beating yourself up over it

One of my major flaws, admittedly: I beat myself up over shit constantly. I dunno why, maybe autism more or less intensifies the usual feeling of "aw shit, I fucked up".

 

[SNU]

I vaguely remember a study done that used eye tracking on normies and spergs. They made them watch scenes with various levels of subtext and non verbal communication then asked them to explain what happened. Spergs got it wrong. Normies got it right. The interesting part was the differences in where the groups were looking. Normies mainly looked at faces and places where body language is displayed. Spergs pretty much looked everywhere else. They hypothesized that if spergs learned where to look and forced themselves to look there then they'd pick up on more shit. How are you meant to notice something if you aren't even looking at it? If you're listening to someone but not looking for body language tells that they aren't being serious then you'll take it seriously and misinterpret the meaning. Learn where to look and what different body language means and you will be better at it. You might never be as good as someone who can innately do it and it won't be effortless but I think spergs can learn compensation strategies that will improve the ability. I imagine it would be similar to people with face blindness. They lack the inbuilt mechanism for pattern recognition for faces. But they can learn coping strategies to help them. While they will always be at a disadvantage because a normie can just instantly recognize a face whereas they have to think about context and remember shit like "x person has a huge nose and thick eyebrows so this person could possibly be x", they will be better at it by using coping strategies than if they didn't even try.

Spoiler: Coping strategies for face blindness example

https://www.prosopagnosiaresearch.org/face-blindness/coping-strategies

I don't know if this reaserch went anywhere. I heard about it ages ago so I don't know if they tried to teach spergs how to pick up on nonverbal cues. Maybe it's all bullshit. I'd imagine even if it was promising they would have been bullied in to stopping because it's not okay to try to make spergs act normal or some shit but if someone has a personality change or loses an innate ability after a stroke it's okay to try to make them act normal.

It could all be bullshit but it makes sense to me that not looking at something means you'll not notice it

EDIT:
I kind of just assumed you wanted to be better at it and sperged out about shit I've heard before. If you were just venting then disregard. But if you wanted to look into it then it could be a useful rabbit hole to go down.


Here's some sped wiki I found that briefly summarizes some eye tracking research done on freaks like you

Spoiler: Brief over view of differences in eye tracking

https://www.spectrumnews.org/wiki/eye-tracking/

 

[SwanSwanson]

A YouTuber I watched who has autism argued against Drag Queen Story Hour despite being a progressive liberal. The only benefit autism has isn't even a benefit to the autist itself but to society at large and it's just a greater focus on the truth and saying the truth than neurotypicals, and it is somewhat rare that an autist is even in an influential enough position for that truth to be really heard.

The fact is that being an autist is a direct downgrade in pretty much every situation, there's female thinking, where its a focus on people and emotions, there's male thinking where there's a focus on things and the world, and there's autistic thinking which is just a focus on your own mind. It's not good.

Personally, I still think we should try to accommodate autists.

 

[libRT]

I find a lot of people claiming to be autistic to actually just be stupid geeks as well as socially retarded. Makes me doubt diagnoses especially if its played upto, or shared as if to establish someones identity as such.

 

[The Hero of Kvatch]

It's my autism and I get to choose the method to cope with it.

 

[The Cunting Death]

: I beat myself up over shit constantly. I dunno why, maybe autism more or less intensifies the usual feeling of "aw shit, I fucked up".

 

[SNU]

It's my autism and I get to choose the method to cope with it.

No. You will wear the eye tracking device. You will measure blink rate. You will pay attention to points of interest. You will act normal. Reeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

[Stan]

I will never have that. I will never be able to form a palpable connection with another human being (aside from close family, that is). I will never have real "friends", the closest they'll be are acquaintances. I will never know the feeling of being in love. The simple act of socializing is physically draining and as a result, I will never "enjoy" events/trips the way normal people do.

Never say never and never say die. It’s fully possible for you to cultivate friendships and fall in love, although it’s going to be different than the “normal” way. But some women will like you if you just be nice and considerate. When you find the right one it doesn’t matter how autistic you are, she will love you for the tism instead of seeing it as a flaw to be masked and overcome.

 

[The Hero of Kvatch]

No. You will wear the eye tracking device. You will measure blink rate. You will pay attention to points of interest. You will act normal. Reeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

You WILL make eye contact. You will NOT walk on your tiptoes. You will NOT speak incessantly about trains. You WILL speak to other people. You WILL notice social cues. You WILL be normal neurotypical!!!

 

[The Cunting Death]

I do, however, like masking because it makes me feel competent. It also pisses off the right autists.

 

[The Last Stand]

I feel some parents overcompensate their child(ren)'s disability through coddling without teaching their child to cope with their ailment. If they are always believed to be "special," that belief could seep into their adult life with various results. Take a look at Young Sheldon as an example.

 

[Meat Target]

My team at work is doing a little meet-up at the local office this week as a sort of team-building exercise. Today was the first day everyone was there. Just....the way everyone threw jokey little barbs at each other, the genuine laughs they had, the ease with which they simply talked to each other.

Ease up on yourself. Work, and especially corporate mandatory fun sessions, are not good places to make friends. You don't have to be buddy-buddy with co-workers.

I do have genuine friendships, just very few. I prefer it that way. Quality over quantity.

But yes, I do feel you on the inability to laugh at things normies find funny. But that's probably because I'm fucked up in the head and usually only laugh at things that are morbid or mean-spirited.

On that note: invoke your Sperg Pass whenever someone gets on your case for playing Kick the Autistic.

 

[The Last Stand]

I cannot tell if I'm actually autistic or I'm just socially awkward. Two things can exist at once.

 

[The Hero of Kvatch]

I'm like 99% sure I have some form of autism. Never seen a doctor about it, though I probably should.

I'd be fine with being autistic, doesn't change anything at this stage, it's just a title.
But everyone else I've ever known, 100% believe I have autism, and they've always treat me like a literal bumbling fucking child.
I just wanna live in peace and not be treat like ass because I'm "different" to other people, and somehow that difference is "wrong", or "not normal".

Anyways, that's my two cents.

If you've got autism, there's nothing wrong with it. Live life however the fuck you want, don't let assholes try stop you just because you're an autist.
You'll have difficulties, but it's not the end.
Probably sounds gay and corny, but you can power through it all, no matter what.